(1 of )Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden speaks to reporters after practice at an NFL football minicamp in Alameda, Calif., Thursday, June 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Grant Cohn: Raiders will go as far as Darren McFadden can carry them

GRANT COHN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | July 24, 2013

Darren McFadden is the most important player on the Raiders this season. If they have any shot to make the postseason, McFadden must carry them.

That's because the Raiders' defense has at least eight new starters and the passing game has more holes than Swiss cheese. The Raiders have no wide receivers to scare opposing cornerbacks, and almost zero experience at tight end and quarterback. Name an NFL roster with more question marks at quarterback than the Raiders.

I'll wait.

The three quarterbacks – Matt Flynn, Terrelle Pryor and Tyler Wilson – have three measly NFL starts between them. None of them can carry an offense right now. They need a running game.

If McFadden can establish himself as a reliable running back, he will open up the offense for everyone else. Flynn, the starting quarterback, could manage the game and limit turnovers, like Alex Smith did for the 49ers in 2011 when they won 13 regular-season games.

McFadden has the talent to lead the Raiders' offense. At his best, he's a violent runner who has great acceleration and home-run speed. He's a threat to take it the distance from anywhere on the field, and he can catch passes. If he can stay healthy he could lead the Raiders in rushing and receiving, but he never has stayed healthy for a full season in the NFL. There's a reason for that.

"He's got bird legs," said a former longtime NFL assistant coach who requested anonymity. "He's too spindly. I don't like his lower body. A running back takes a pounding on his lower torso. A running back has to be stoutly built from the waist down to be able to withstand the pounding he is going to take."

Since the Raiders drafted McFadden with the fourth pick in 2008, he has injured his ankle, foot, knee and toe and has missed 23 games, almost five per season. He turns 26 in August and he's entering the final year of his contract.

"If he had a bunch of upper body injuries, then you would say he might be running too upright," said the former NFL assistant coach. "But most of his injuries are from the waist down. He almost has more of a scat-back kind of a build in the lower torso than a prototypical running back's build with the quads, the calves and the kind of lower body that can withstand punishment."

The Raiders aren't going to use McFadden as a scat-back. They're going to use him as a featured back and feed him the ball until he breaks down. If by some miracle he doesn't break down, he should have the best season of his career and earn a long-term contract extension from the Raiders.

New offensive coordinator Greg Olson has brought back the power running scheme McFadden ran under Tom Cable in 2010 and 2011. Those two seasons, McFadden averaged 5.3 yards per carry. That's elite. But he also missed 12 of the 32 games.

"Now that McFadden is back to the power running game, he's going to be running between the tackles," said the former NFL assistant coach. "You're going to have a lot of helmets banging on your legs when you're running between the tackles."

If he gets injured yet again the Raiders' season probably will implode, but they probably would get a top-five pick in next year's draft, too. That's a good consolation.

There would be no consolation for McFadden. The Raiders probably wouldn't re-sign him. He would go straight to the chopping block.

"You can find a dozen running backs cheaper and more productive," said the former NFL assistant coach. "Running backs are a dime a dozen unless you're Adrian Peterson, and McFadden is no Peterson."

Peterson has carried the ball an average of 292 times per season in his six-year career. McFadden never has carried the ball more than 223 times in a season.

The Houston Texans have gotten 956 carries the past three seasons from Arian Foster, an undrafted free agent in 2009. Last season, the Redskins got 335 carries out of Alfred Morris, a sixth-round pick in 2012.

The Raiders just spent a sixth-round pick this offseason on a running back, Latavius Murray, who is tall and fast like McFadden. If Murray can prove he's more durable than McFadden, Murray could take McFadden's job next season.

In that case, McFadden would be a 27-year-old injury-prone free agent running back searching for a one year deal. He wouldn't be the most important player for any team.

He would be just another guy.

Grant Cohn writes sports columns and the "Inside the 49ers" blog for the Press Democrat's website. You can reach him at grantcohn@gmail.com.